MICHIGAN — Abdul El-Sayed is running to be the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Michigan in the November 2026 election. He faces Representative Haley Stevens in a primary contest that has drawn significant support from both establishment and progressive factions of the party.

The Michigan Democratic primary election is scheduled for 4 August 2026. Polls show Abdul El-Sayed and Stevens are virtually tied, though specific surveys have reported divergent results. A Glengariff Group poll released on July 15, 2026, showed Stevens holding a 7-point lead over El-Sayed, while a Data for Progress poll released the same day showed El-Sayed leading by 13 points.

Stevens has the backing of the Democratic party establishment. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Rep. Stevens in the Michigan Senate primary, and retiring Sen. Gary Peters endorsed Rep. Stevens. In contrast, Sens.

Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Chris Van Hollen, as well as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ro Khanna, have endorsed Abdul El-Sayed.

El-Sayed stated he entered the 2026 US Senate race after the Trump administration froze federal funds for public health programs. "The straw that broke the camel’s back was when they froze federal funds," El-Sayed said. He described the decision as a catalyst for his return to electoral politics following previous campaigns.

During his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, El-Sayed received an endorsement from Senator Bernie Sanders, marking his entry into national progressive politics. In that 2018 race, he previously ran for Michigan governor, earning 29% of the vote in the Democratic primary, finishing behind Gretchen Whitmer and Shri Thanedar. El-Sayed was the first African American to serve as a Detroit city council member in over 30 years, elected in 2010.

He is 41 years old and has a background in public health administration. He served as the director of the Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services of Wayne County, Michigan, from 2023 to 2025. He also served as the head of Wayne County’s health department and led Detroit’s health department after the city’s bankruptcy. While leading Wayne County’s health department, he helped cancel roughly $700m in medical debt affecting 300,000 Michiganders.

El-Sayed has been a vocal advocate for Medicare for All, a policy that has become a central plank of his 2026 Senate campaign and distinguishes him from more centrist Democratic candidates like Stevens. "I’m a scientist," he said. "I want to solve problems." He added that the current economic structure requires scrutiny. "The problem is, we don’t live in capitalism, we live in oligopoly," he said.

Campaign finance reports indicate strong grassroots support for El-Sayed. In the second quarter of 2026, he outraised Stevens by more than 5-to-1 among small-dollar donors, according to Federal Election Commission filings. His stance on foreign policy has also drawn attention.

He describes the Israel-Gaza war as a genocide. He has publicly opposed the pro-Israel lobby, a stance that has drawn significant attention and criticism, particularly from groups like AIPAC, which spent $30 million to oppose him in the 2026 Senate race.

Matt Grossman analyzed the shift in El-Sayed’s political positioning. Matt Grossman is the director of Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. "In the previous campaign, El-Sayed was more the Bernie candidate – affiliated with a particular faction of the Democratic party," Grossman said.

"Now, he’s more representative of a broader group of voters on the left side of the Democratic primary, who are anti-institutional or newly grassroots." He attributed his momentum to voter dissatisfaction with traditional political structures. "I think people are sick and tired of the establishments on both sides of that, and I think we are having success because we’re speaking to that frustration," he said.

His personal history includes academic and athletic achievements at the University of Michigan. He became the University of Michigan’s first Rhodes scholar in years in 2007. He studied at Oxford University and attended Columbia medical school.

As an undergraduate, he was a starting defenseman on the University of Michigan lacrosse team and served as vice-president of the University of Michigan Muslim Students Association. He also spent childhood summers in Egypt with his father’s family. "There’s no world in which, had I been born in Egypt, like I was supposed to, I would ever be able to run for office," he said.

Supporters describe him in personal terms. Mohamad Issa is a head and neck cancer surgeon in Ohio. "He’s a bro," Issa said. He used informal language to describe his vision for political engagement, stating that politics does not have to be unpleasant and that voters can build a system that functions better for them.

The 2026 Michigan Senate primary represents a contest between established Democratic leadership and a progressive movement backed by national figures. The race shows divisions within the party over economic policy, with El-Sayed advocating for Medicare for All and Stevens holding endorsements from the state’s governor and a retiring senator. The outcome will determine who challenges for the seat in the November 2026 general election.

His campaign focuses on public health expertise and anti-establishment messaging, drawing on his experience in Wayne County and Detroit. His fundraising success among small-dollar donors suggests a mobilized base, while Stevens’ establishment support reflects institutional strength. The primary serves as a test of progressive influence in a key swing state.